David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Social Services, Senator Fifield. Will the minister update the Senate on the significant changes affecting aged care that came into effect on 1 July?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for your question. A little over a week ago some significant changes came into effect on 1 July in aged care. The first and most important thing to note is that there will be no changes to the financial arrangements for people already in care before that date. There were some significant structural changes. The first was that in residential aged care the distinction between high care and low care has been removed. Previously you could only pay a lump sum amount for low care. With the removal of the high-care/low-care distinction there will be greater choice for consumers in terms of how they pay for their accommodation. Consumers will have the choice of a lump sum, a daily fee or a combination of the two. There are also new means-testing arrangements because it is important that those people who have the means—who have the capacity to make a contribution—do so, but it is also significant that there is and will remain a safety net.

There really are two parts to aged care. There is the care side and the accommodation side. Previously there was only an assets test for accommodation and there was only an income test for care, so you could have a situation where people of high assets paid very little for their care and people of high means paid very little for their accommodation. Under the new means testing arrangements there will in effect be three tiers. For those people of low means—assets below $45,000 and income below $24,000—the only contribution they will have to make is a basic daily fee, which is 85 per cent of the aged pension. They will not have to pay anything towards their accommodation. For people of moderate means, they will pay that basic daily fee and a contribution to their accommodation. For people of high means, they will pay the basic daily fee and a means tested care fee, and they will also be responsible for all of their accommodation costs.

David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate what new protections have been put in place for those in aged care and their families?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under the new means-testing arrangements there are some important protections in relation to the means tested care fee. For the home-care situation, for people who are self-funded retirees there will be a $10,000 cap. For people who are part pensioners there will be a $5,000 cap per year. For people in residential care there will be a $25,000 annual cap, but there will also be for both home care and residential care a $60,000 lifetime cap. That includes any contribution that someone has made in home care. If they then move into residential care, that will be a combined lifetime cap. So there is a $60,000 annual cap. That is an important protection for consumers. But there will also be particular hardship protections which are at the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Human Services.

David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister advise the Senate how Australians can plan for their future aged-care and accommodation needs and how the government will monitor the changes to aged care?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is important that families do talk about aged-care requirements for one of their number before it gets urgent, before they get to that critical point in time. To assist families and consumers to do that, there is the My Aged Care website—myagedcare.gov.au—which will help plan. There is also a helpline: 1800 200 422. You can actually talk to a real-live human being because we know it is very important for consumers to talk to someone. The My Aged Care gateway will have information for consumers about product offerings from home-care and residential-care providers and information about pricing. There will also be an assets system on the site where you can plug in your means, your assets and your income to give consumers a good idea of the prices that you will be liable for.